Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities for free classified advertisements (with jobs, internships, housing, personal advertisements, erotic services, for sale/barter/wanted, services, community, and pets categories) and forums on various topics.
Description
The service was founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark for the San Francisco Bay Area. After incorporation as a private for-profit company in 1999, Craigslist expanded into nine more U.S. cities in 2000, four each in 2001 and 2002, and 14 in 2003. By September 2007, Craigslist had established itself in approximately 450 cities in 50 countries.
The site serves over nine billion page views per month, putting it in 56th place overall among web sites worldwide, ninth place overall among web sites in the United States (per Alexa.com on January 10, 2008), to over thirty million unique visitors. With over thirty million new classified advertisements each month, Craigslist[5] is the leading classifieds service in any medium. The site receives over two million new job listings each month. So it is one of the top job boards in the world.[6]
Criticism
In July 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle criticized Craigslist for allowing ads from dog breeders, and thereby allegedly encouraging the over breeding and irresponsible selling of pit bulls in the Bay Area.[7]
In January 2006, the San Francisco Bay Guardian published an editorial criticizing Craigslist for moving into local communities and "threatening to eviscerate" local alternative newspapers. Craigslist has been compared to Wal-Mart, a multinational corporation that some feel crushes small local businesses when they move into towns and offer a huge assortment of goods at cheaper prices.[8]
In August 2007, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin wrote a letter to Craigslist asking the company to take steps to avoid unwittingly enabling child prostitution through its classified ads.[9][10]
Nonprofit foundation
In 2001, the company started the Craigslist Foundation, a §501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that helps emerging nonprofit organizations get established, gain visibility, attract the attention of potential donors, and develop the skills and knowledge required for long-term success.
It accepts charitable donations, and rather than directly funding organizations, it produces face-to-face events and offers online resources to help grassroots organizations get off the ground and contribute real value to the community.
Awards
NYPRESS: 2003, Best Local Website, by Manhattan Reader's Poll[11]
Webby: 2001, Best Community Site, by the Academy[12]
